EQL: Building Media Authority for a Digital MSK Platform Across the NHS and Employer Health Markets
Solution
MSK pain is one of the largest pressures on UK healthcare. Around a third of the population lives with a musculoskeletal condition, and NHS physiotherapy waiting lists keep growing. EQL's platform, Phio, addresses this directly: a clinically led digital triage tool that assesses patients across more than 3,000 MSK scenarios and signposts them to the right care, alongside Phio Engage for guided rehabilitation.
The product was scaling quickly across NHS trusts, primary care networks and employer health schemes. The communications were not keeping pace. EQL had genuine proof points, NHS pilot data, a credible clinical leadership team and a steady run of partnership announcements, but no consistent way to turn them into visible authority with the people who commission and buy MSK care.
SomX was brought in to run EQL's communications as an embedded retainer spanning PR, content, social and design.
Earned media tied to platform milestones
We map a media plan against EQL's commercial calendar, so partnership launches, NHS go-lives and pilot results each land as news rather than passing unnoticed. When NHS Shetland reported that 3 in 4 patients using Phio received the assessment and guidance they needed immediately, without a referral or a waiting list, we built the release around that figure and took it to Scottish and trade media. The story ran in the Shetland Times, Shetland News and Scottish Business News, with follow-up patient-led commentary extending the coverage further.
Thought leadership that builds clinical credibility
We position EQL's clinical leaders as authoritative voices on the MSK pain crisis. That includes national coverage for Professor Mick Thacker, EQL's Head of R&D, in The Telegraph, and a programme of bylined articles and Q&As for clinical lead Pete Grinbergs across titles including BioPharma APAC and European Hospital & Healthcare Management, covering AI and MSK inequality, the hidden link between MSK pain and mental health, and the shift from reactive to preventative care.
Integrated content and social
PR, content, design and strategy work as one team. Coverage is amplified through social content on EQL's channels and its leaders' profiles, supported by blogs and design assets that keep the platform's value visible between announcements.
An embedded account team
SomX operates as an extension of EQL's team, with regular reporting, a live coverage tracker and senior input across communications, working alongside EQL and its partners to keep momentum through a fast-moving news cycle.
Results
- National and trade coverage tied to commercial milestones: earned placements across The Telegraph, BioPharma APAC, European Hospital & Healthcare Management and Scottish and regional media, each mapped to a partnership, pilot or platform announcement.
- A standout NHS proof point in the public domain: the NHS Shetland pilot result, 3 in 4 patients triaged immediately without a referral or waiting list, secured across Shetland Times, Shetland News and Scottish Business News, with patient-led follow-up coverage.
- Clinical leaders established as go-to commentators: Professor Mick Thacker and clinical lead Pete Grinbergs positioned as authoritative voices on the MSK pain crisis, AI in triage, and the move toward preventative care.
- A consistent, integrated communications engine: PR, content, social and design running as one retainer, so EQL's growth is matched by visible authority with NHS commissioners, employers and partners.
Reflection
EQL had the product, the clinical credibility and the data. What it needed was a communications partner who understood healthcare well enough to turn those into authority with the right audiences. By running PR, content, social and design as a single embedded retainer, we have helped EQL convert platform milestones and NHS pilot results into earned media that reaches the commissioners, employers and partners who decide how MSK care is bought. It is a model we use across our healthtech retainers: communications built around commercial outcomes, not vanity metrics.
